Chapter 34-Reasoning

Raoul cautiously followed Dhran and Makiar down a long narrow hallway that brought them out into a large inner chamber that had several pathways branching off of it that lead elsewhere in the underground system. His gaze occasionally flickered to the still man who had finally calmed down and drifted into unconsciousness laying against the red she-dragon's back, recalling what Finca had taken upon herself to inform him during their mad flight back to the subterranean world. Here was his own father at the mercy of one of the greatest natural predators he knew of and it scared him that the dragon could turn on the helpless man at any time and end his life. He stopped behind Airu as the silver-haired individual drew his sword, the grating sound as it withdrew from its sheath reminding Raoul of his time spent as Amia's prisoner.

"Is here good, Makiar?" Dhran asked, motioning with his sword to the entire room, prompting Raoul to scan the walls and see the tiny gemstones placed within the woodgrain and fixated near each blue lanturn that adorned at least close to the entrance of every tunnel, including the one they had come from.

The ruby dragoness sniffed the air before a low growl rose from within her throat. It will do fine, Airu, she remarked, her voice sounding to Raoul like the rumbling before a volcano erupts. As for you, she hissed as he found a yellow orb fixed on him, who are you?

"Raoul Asburo," he replied, trembling slightly out of fear towards the massive dragon beside him. "Finca found me in the caverns under the ruins of Misery's lab and brought me here to help my father-"

As soon as he had revealed the reason he had been brought along, Raoul retreated a step, quivering as Makiar turned her entire head to face him. He shook even harder once the she-dragon lifted the edges of her maw and showed him her sharp pointed teeth, snarling softly behind them to show her displeasure. Raoul backed up against the wall, trying to grasp for anything to use as a weapon if he had to fend off the dragon from ripping him to shreds, remembering that Finca had told him she had kept the promise she had made with his mother until their flight about who his father had been. No other dragon had been told this so the fury of the dragon before him was justified, despite whether he liked the attention or not that was directed his way for even bringing up what Finca had disclosed to him alone.

Who is your father? You seem to be still young in years so I doubt it could be too many of the male humans down here. Of the two we have, I cannot foresee either having a child with another out of their respectable partnerships. Her snout lowered to the point it was even with his chest, their eyes locking. Tell me the name of your father, young Asburo.

Out of the corner of his eye, Raoul saw Dhran turn slightly to better face him and cross his arms, appearing as interested as Makiar was about knowing who the parent was that he had unfortunately mentioned. He swallowed, wishing he had not spoken those words at all as it seemed both human and dragon alike wanted the truth. Raoul hoped they would not be too angry with the response he was about to give, yet he secretly figured they might be confused over why it might have happened so long ago and why he was not older than he appeared to be.

"My father is Tamli Dragonsbane," he whispered, closing his eyes as if the announcement might cause the two to attack him out of rage. Only when he heard nothing did he reopen his eyes to see both staring at him with disbelief.

"How is it even possible that the man we have known for so long as a dragon created a human son by intercourse with another?" Dhran asked as he re-sheathed his sword and pulled Tamli from Makiar's back, laying the man on the ground between them.

I had not known Tamli was interested in women during his mortal years, Makiar snorted, her tone filled with confusion and equal disbelief as Raoul thought might be present in their stunned words. Your mother, young one, was she Nethial Asburo?

"Indeed she was," Raoul replied, voice barely above a whisper. "Why do you ask?"

Because Finca became very interested in her dragon along the same time the training brought together the two pairs. I did not realize it at the time but I believe now this might have caused the attraction between Tamli and Nethial, thus creating you from that intrigue they had towards each other. She snorted again, releasing a puff of smoke from her nostrils. Yet something puzzles me. Why would Tamli leave Nethial and go off with Amia once he knew she was with child? I understand his reasoning behind protecting Finca but at the cost of leaving you and your mother unprotected . . . It just fails to sound like something he would do.

Airu cleared his throat, drawing their attention to him. "As you have told me many times, Makiar, there is little of the life before the tri-mind experience of Tamli that we understand. You may have been within Finca during this unwillingly, but you should know greater of his motives then most others, including Raoul's mother."

Raoul quickly glanced at his father before returning his attention to Makiar and Dhran. He had known they would not understand right away how he could be the son of one of the most powerful hybrids alive, Finca's words upon their return had assured him of that much. If he could not get them to realize the truth behind his words then how would they treat him? Was he to be outcast from this band of rebels against the rule of Corruption?

"I am telling you the truth," Raoul clarified as he saw from the corner of his eye the body of his father twitch.

"I do not disagree with you," Dhran remarked as he uncrossed his arms and let them hang by his sides. "What Makiar and I fail to understand is how he could have left you both alone and not stayed to keep watch over the love of his heart."

Tamli twitched again, hand clenching out of reflex as Raoul smiled. He had not expected that the meeting between them would happen more quickly then he had believed upon seeing Tamli from the back of Finca. It seemed that being a dragon-human hybrid certainly gave his father a quicker recovery rate for injuries.

I must be off, Makiar snorted, turning to walk away. Uria requests my presence over something of the greatest urgency. She growled softly as she left the room, much to the confusion of Raoul who looked to Dhran for an explanation of the she-dragon's behavior.

Airu hesitated for a moment before he spoke, seeming to Raoul that he carefully chose his words for fearing of being questioned later by Makiar. "I am never certain when it comes to her and her behavior. Since my earliest memories, she has always been quick to anger and would not hesitate to snarl at the slightest little thing. It aggravates some of the dragons down here but most have learned to deal with it and not question her motives."

"I see," Raoul muttered, still confused over the peculiar behavior, yet distracted by what Finca had told him about his father. According to the dragoness, Tamli had sacrificed a good life for himself in order to protect her and, as Dhran had pointed out, had left Nethial once he was certain she was pregnant. What father would do that to his own son? Had Tamli not wanted him to know who his father was, even making his own mother hide the truth because of the words of a dragon?

"You seem plagued by things deeper than an interest in Makiar's behavior," Dhran commented. "Care to tell me what's on your mind? You don't have to if you choose but it might do you good to get it off your chest."

Raoul started to speak but then restrained himself. He had just met Dhran yet the man seemed so easy to talk with about any problem. With a sigh, he leaned up against the wall behind him and crossed his arms. Surely speaking with the individual before him would do no harm, it wasn't like he was in danger or anything.

"Your words . . . puzzle me, Airu. I had never known the identity of my father until today, yet you make it seem like he left because he wanted to, not because he had no other choice."

"Is that what Finca told you? That Tamli had no other choice and left to keep Nethial and her safe?" Dhran questioned, pressing him for answers. "She isn't right in the head, hasn't been for a few years now. I would be hesitant to believe anything she says, but it is your decision."

"The event where she lost the egg? Is that what started everything?"

Airu sighed, flickering his gaze away as he angrily gripped the handle on his sword. "Maybe, but no one knows for certain. I think she has always been a little messed up to tell you the truth."

Changing tactics, Raoul decided to ask to see the sword, wanting to know what Dhran would say in response. He waited patiently as the man fingered the hilt and silently cheered as the weapon was pulled free and its blade pointed away from him. Just as he was about to grab for it, his gaze happened to flicker in the direction of Tamli. His father was awake and his purple eyes stared intensely at him, the once gentle irises masked by layers of confusion and pain. It pitied Raoul to see how far the former rider had fallen from his height of power as mental partner of Finca and lover of Nethial to the broken form before them.

"Tamli?" Airu asked gingerly, kneeing next to the wounded man. "This is-"

With surprising speed, Tamli clamped his free hand over Dhran's mouth, eyes alight with a look of realization. "I know who he is," he croaked, straining himself so Raoul could hear. "That child, that boy, is my son."

While Tamli was meeting with Raoul for the first time, Dragonsbane was angrily pacing the stone floor of Arxa's cave. He wanted to know more about where the powerful dragoness had gone, and since one of her sons had disappeared with her, he figured the lonely location would reveal more than venturing back to the dark underground where he had slaughtered the two hatchlings of Sitedal and Verdra's clutch. Their entrance had ruined his plans; he had wanted to destroy all three but they came at the worst moment possible. With a scream, he punched the wall before him and came to a stop, letting the blood from his now broken knuckles ooze down his hand and onto the floor.

How could he have been so foolish? Amia had given him clear instructions to make the lives of those around Tamli as miserable as he could, yet he couldn't even kill all the new dragonets of the hybrid's daughter. He clenched his teeth, barely restraining another scream of anger as his gaze flickered down to his bloodied hand. The wound would heal within time but his attention was held on other matters than how he could fight without his dominant sword arm. Another spasm of rage gripped him and he braced himself against the wall he had punched, cringing as tremors racked his body. All of the clones had been warned of the difficulties that had tried to prevent their creation, and the problems they might have had to face as memories inherited from Tamli flashed through them and revealed their power at the expense of opening emotional connections to the vast majority of lives that the Original rider had interacted within during his life span. Many had fallen into despair and misery over the ache of losing the two hatchlings from his first clutch with Finca, while others had become fixated on making Finca as much a part of their lives as possible. Only a select few had overcome the dangers of the first several months and had lasted long enough to meet the Original and his dragon face-to-face, most of those dead now except for him. Even the name of the Original's dragon meant little to him anymore, a true sign that he finally overcome the emotional ties to any individual that had met the spawner of their life.

Dragonsbane finally relaxed his tense muscles as the throb of raw power faded, the only remaining drawback to him from the cloning process used to create him. He was glad one of his fellow copies had been brave enough to give Tamli the vial, otherwise he would have never been able to slip into the underground tunnels so easily. It was not his fear of Finca that prompted him to start the fire inside her cavern but it had been his worry that the Original would know who had spawned it immediately upon entry. Taking and cloning the sword had been for his own protection, else the hybrid come after him for payment for the deaths of the two hatchlings. A sense of peace enfolded him and Dragonsbane stepped away from the wall, closing his eyes and collecting his thoughts. The change in the area was instant as thick mist swarmed in and blanketed the cave with heavy vapor, the white fog answering his probing inquiry over whether it was the shell-less power of Corruption.

Indeed I am, ill-begotten copy of the great Pure One, a deep rumble from within the thin cloud-like substance responded.

You call me a copy of the Pure One, is Tamli who you speak of? He asked, remembering that the magic had promised him a reward if he at least disrupted the natural peace of the underground tunnels where the cowards that dare oppose the power of Corruption hid out.

The air compressed slightly around him as if the dark presence was enraged at the question. Dragonsbane quickly readied himself for the worst it could give. He had been trained under harsher circumstances than simply being toyed with by a magical fog.

Learn your place, Tanui, the magic of Corruption commanded, pressing in upon him the name Amia had given him as a way to separate him from Tamli. I may have promised you a reward upon my return if you did succeed in disrupting the peace within the Compound's tunnel system but . . . You actually accomplished something? Impressive, young wielder of darkness. Despite the faint connection I still have to the frail shell of Narssia, I will honor the promise I made to you. Find a dragon and let a bond form between you both, then return here and bring the newly linked one with you for the true test of the dragon-human mental connection.

As you wish, Tanui muttered as the vapor slowly faded away and he was left standing in the silent cave once more by himself. He had to find a dragon hatchling now, and he knew where to start looking for one to fit his needs perfectly.